For decades, the stereotype of a high school science fair project was a baking soda volcano or a potato battery. But in the Pacific Northwest, that image has been shattered.

The Central Sound Regional Science & Engineering Fair (CSRSEF), that serves King and Snohomish counties, has evolved into a powerhouse of pre-professional research. Between 2022 and 2025, we have witnessed a seismic shift in the caliber of projects taking home top honors. Students are no longer just observing science; they are advancing it.

Based on a comprehensive analysis of award winners from the last four years, three dominant trends have emerged that define the new standard for competitive STEM research.

1. The “In Silico” Revolution: Biology Meets Big Data

The most distinct trend from 2022 to 2025 is the migration from the “wet lab” to the “laptop.” Traditional biology experiments can be prohibitively expensive and slow. In response, students are leveraging the democratization of Artificial Intelligence and bioinformatics to solve structural biology problems in months rather than years.

The 2025 winning project by Shriya, “NanoDesigner,” is a prime example. Instead of physically testing drugs, she used AI to design nanobodies capable of crossing the Blood-Brain Barrier—a feat that currently stumps major pharmaceutical companies. This echoes the 2024 Grand Champion project by Aryaman Rtunjay, who used Molecular Dynamics simulations to study ALS protein aggregation.

These students are utilizing tools like AlphaFold and Rosetta, operating at a level previously reserved for doctoral candidates. They are proving that you don’t need a million-dollar lab to make a discovery; you just need data and the code to interpret it.

2. Closing the Loop: Engineering for Human Health

While earlier years focused heavily on observation, the 2025 cohort has moved aggressively toward intervention. Students are building “closed-loop” systems—devices that not only detect a problem but immediately act to fix it.

Ved Kasbekar’s 2025 project on Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) illustrates this perfectly. His system doesn’t just record brain waves; it detects pain signals and triggers a controlled analgesic response. This is complex systems engineering, requiring a mastery of both neuroscience and signal processing.

This builds on the work of 2024 winner Sneha Sharma, who used Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to detect epilepsy biomarkers in pediatric patients. The trend is clear: judges are rewarding projects that apply engineering principles to the messy, complex reality of human physiology.

3. Solving the “Grand Challenges” of the Pacific Northwest

The winning projects at CSRSEF are deeply rooted in the specific economic and ecological needs of Washington State. Students are tackling “Grand Challenges”—massive, systemic issues that impact their local communities.

• Environmental Toxicology: In 2025, Karis Kim investigated “forever chemicals” (PFAS) using Drosophila models, providing vital data on reproductive health that is relevant to local water safety.
• Economic Preservation: Anson Chen’s 2024 project on forecasting algal blooms wasn’t just abstract science; it was a tool to save the Dungeness crab industry from toxic shutdowns.
• Wildlife Conservation: Vedant Srinivas (2024) addressed the difficulty of tracking wildlife at night by using AI to synthesize thermal data, directly aiding conservation efforts at the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass crossings.

Conclusion: The New Normal

The analysis of the 2022–2025 cohorts confirms that the bar has been raised. The “easy” science has been done. The students winning today are those who can navigate complex datasets, code their own analysis tools, and design engineering solutions for real-world problems.

For future aspirants, the message is clear: Don’t just ask a question. Build the tool that answers it. Future Forward Labs mentors guide students on how to do that.